View source for Fonio

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Fonio
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Poales]]
| familia = [[Poaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Panicoideae]]
| genus = ''[[Digitaria]]''
| species = '''''D. exilis'''''
| binomial = ''Digitaria exilis''
| binomial_authority = (Kippist) Stapf
| synonyms = ''Paspalum exile'' <small>Kippist</small><br/>''Syntherisma exilis'' <small>(Kippist) Newbold</small>
}}

'''Fonio''' is the term for cultivated grains in the ''[[Digitaria]]'' genus. These are notable in parts of [[West Africa]] and one species in [[India]]. The grains are very small.

==White fonio (''Digitaria exilis'')==

White fonio (''D. exilis'') is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated ''[[Digitaria]]'' species that are harvested in the savannas of west Africa. Fonio is the smallest of all species of [[millet]]. It is one of the primary [[cereal]]s of southern [[Sudan]] and [[Ethiopia]] in [[Africa]]. According to the mythology of the [[Dogon]] people of [[Mali]], among whom it is known as '''po''', the supreme creator of the universe, [[Amma]], made the entire universe by exploding a single grain of fonio, located inside the "egg of the world".

Fonio has continued to be important locally because it is both nutritious and one of the world's fastest growing cereals, reaching maturity in as little as six to eight weeks. It is a crop that can be relied on in semi-arid areas with poor soils, where rains are brief and unreliable. The grains are used in porridge and couscous, for bread, and for beer. 

Some regions in which this crop is important are the [[Fouta Djallon]] region of [[Guinea]] and the [[Akposso]] area of [[Togo]]. In the latter, fonio (called ''ɔva'') is primarily a women's crop; it and [[cowpeas]] are used to make a traditional dish).

The small grains make it difficult and time-consuming to remove the [[husk]]. Traditional methods include pounding it in a mortar with sand (then separating the grains and sand) or "popping" it over a flame and then pounding it (which yields a toasted color grain; this technique is used among the [[Akposso]]). The invention of a simple [[fonio husking machine]] offers an easier mechanical way to dehusk.

==Black fonio (''Digitaria iburua'')==

Black fonio (''D. iburua'') is a similar crop grown in [[Nigeria]], [[Togo]], and [[Benin]].

==Raishan (''D. compacta'')==

Raishan (''D. compacta'') is a minor cereal, only grown in the [[Khasi Hills]] of northeast [[India]], with glutinous flour used to make bread or porridge.

==References==
* {{cite book | author=National Academy of Sciences | year=1996 | title=The lost crops of Africa. 1. Grains | publisher=National Academies Press | id=ISBN 0-309-04990-3 | url=http://www.nap.edu/books/0309049903/html/}}
* {{cite web | title=Fonio: an African cereal | work=CIRAD | url=http://fonio.cirad.fr/en/index.html | accessdate=Jan 10 | accessyear=2006}}
* {{cite journal | title=Potential role of biotechnology tools for genetic improvement of “lost crops of Africa”: the case of fonio (''Digitaria exilis'' and ''Digitaria iburua'') | author=Danladi Dada Kuta, Emmanuel Kwon-Ndung, Stephen Dachi, Mark Ukwungwu and Emmanuel Dada Imolehin | month=December | year=2003 | volume=2 | issue=12 | pages=580-585 | journal=African Journal of Biotechnology | url=http://www.bioline.org.br/request?jb03109}}

{{Cereals}}

[[Category:Millets]]
[[category:Cereals]]
[[Category:Underutilized crops]]
[[Category:Flora of Africa]]